A fete and a weekend lunch…

by Sunita on June 23, 2008

We attended the annual summer fete at the children’s school last Saturday. The weather was not that encouraging , but everyone was out there in full force. The children were running crazy around the field, at times a bit confused as to what thay should have first…their faces painted, hair sprayed, go on the bouncy castle, ride on the mini train, go on the roundabout , try their luck at the lucky dip, join the races (Dinesh and Agastya came third in a parent and child relay race) or lap up those gorgeous cakes and the all too important giant candy floss. In the end, Dinesh and I brought home two exhausted kids, ones hair sprayed in streaks of silver and gold and the other with the face of a very artistic tiger ( the lady who did it…another mom… was really good at face painting ), and their little tummies full of junk (we did turn a blind eye, it’s the school fair, after all…and everything tastes better ).

The fair was after 3.00pm, so we had enough time for our lunch. Sometimes, well, most of the times, for me, the good recipes are concocted on the spur of the moment, and those are the recipes that make me happy and jump for joy. Most of you, some time or the other, must have had the same feeling too. You take out the ingredients, ponder as to what to make, start the preparation without any pre conceived idea…just flow along the tide. In the end, the finished dish, gives so much joy…to the maker, as well as the ones to whom it is served.

This…

and three other baby brinjals (aubergine or eggplant), have been in and out of the refrigerator, quite a few times now. They come out, I think of making something, no ideas, and back they go into the cold. Until…last Saturday. They were again sitting on the counter, and this time I took pity on them. The brinjals were washed, trimmed, slit and coated with a little spice, salt and oil and sent into the oven… while I made a very simple and quick gravy…by that time, the brinjals were soft and juicy and were taken out and dunked into the gravy. I must say that I was really pleased with the results…enough to be happy to share with you all…it’s a very versatile gravy and would also go well with paneer or mushrooms. The preparation time is also very less.Here’s how I made the baked baby brinjals in a spicy peanut gravy for our Saturday lunch…

Rub the brinjals with the rest of the ingredients, well into the slits, and place them on their sides, on a lined baking tray.

Place the tray in the top rack of the pre heated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or till they are soft and begin to leave their juices… they need not be completely cooked (approx 90%), for they will do some more in the gravy. turn them over, once in between.

When the brinjals are nearly half way through, heat the oil for the gravy in a pan and add the whole cumin seeds, bay leaf and the whole red chilli.

When the seeds begin to splutter, add the onions and peanuts and fry till the peanuts leave their aroma and dark spots start to appear.

Add the tomatoes, garlic, roast cumin,chilli powder(if using any) and turmeric and season with salt, stir and cook covered over low heat till the tomatoes are mushy. Stir in between.

Add the water and bring to a boil. Transfer to a food processor and pulse, along with the whole spices. Do not make it too smooth, just make sure that the spices have ground properly.

Transfer the gravy to the pan over heat and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Add the brinjals, coat them with the spices and cook for a couple more minutes, stirring often(the gravy will tend to stick to the pan). Add more water if necessary and cook till the brinjals are completely done.

Add the garam masala powder, stir and remove from heat.

Garnish with coriander leaves before serving.

This does look a bit long, but when you get down to it, is really very simple. By the time the brinjals finish baking, the gravy is ready to receive it. And it tastes great…It can be served as a side dish with rice or with rotis/nans/puris. As it was a spicy dish, we kept the rest of our meal quite simple – plain rice, dal and some stir fried ladies fingers… we licked our plates clean

Sounds like a fun fete, glad you enjoyed it despite the usual weather there!:))Miracle happened here y’day! It rained after 10 days of searing heat! Hurray!Love the Gutti Vankaya stuff, looks mouthwatering. I made it with Latha N’s recipe y’day, will be our dinner today.I don’t get the baby Brinjal ones but made it regular Eggplants. Enjoy!:))

I hear ya! I love it when a dash of this and a sprinkiling of that creates a whole new flavour experience! I love eggplants, nd your curry looks divine – a perfect combo with warm, fluffy rotis. Can’t wait to try. Thanks Sunita!

hi Sunita, nice to ’see’ you too gravy looks so thick n yum, liked the idea of baking the brinjals, lovely!just yest i was reading an article in Time re: ana ivanovic, ur sweet comment made me smile yes, wimbledon will be a lot of fun as always! Enjoy!

i bought brinjal today to try something i had at a friend’s place this weekend.. its something like baingan barta but doesn’t involve the roasting. your recipe is a bit more elaborate but i am sure it must have tasted yummy! i am yet to buy all those spices for my kitchen here

hmmm, yum!! it looks delicious! and peanut gravy, that should taste great! beaustiful pics, its great that ur family are patient when u take these pics, how can they resist ur creations for that long!!

Sounds a lot like bagara baingan Sunita. I don’t like brinjals but I love the gravy and stuffings that go into its various preps. So my mom would make extra masala and substitute with another veggie just for me.

oh how i wish i could have joined u guys and got my face painted and i love this eggplant curry and baking it is a brillient idea suni. i have similar recipe in my blog with peanuts but i cooked on stove top.

Thank you for dropping by and leaving your constructive feedback. I appreciate and value each and every one of them and will try to answer your queries to the best of my ability.

However, at times, the virtual life may take a backseat, and I may be unable to reply to your comments as quickly as I would like to. On such occasions, please bear with me, and I will try to respond as soon as possible.